A microcontroller is a system on a chip and comprises not only a central processing unit (CPU), but also memory, I/O ports, and a plurality of peripherals. A multi-processor core device, such as a multi-core microcontroller, comprises not only one CPU but two or more central processing cores. Such a device provides increased performance, improved security, and aiding software development. In embedded devices, these devices require to use a housing with a high number of pins.
Most multi-core devices are designed for symmetrical multi-processor core operation where the processor cores are designed not to be “different” in function or purpose. Such systems have no need to have one specific processor core to have control of a specific device pin. Other devices that have asymmetrical multi-processor core typically use the other “core(s)” as dedicated functions such as floating point which do not need access to device pins.
Yet, other devices with multi-processor cores are implemented in high pin count packages where the specific device pins can be assigned to specific processor cores.